You Helped Make A Soldier Out Of A Scoundrel
by HevaBeanXD
Summary: An AU I thought could work between Edward and Mary Read. spoiler alert for those who haven't passed sequence 9 in the game or chapter 58 in Oliver Bowden's Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag novel. I don't own anything to do with assassin's creed or Oliver Bowden's novels
1. Chapter 1

_This was no fever, but it still filled me with dread. I was pregnant._

December 23rd1719

When Edward had told the tavern that he was being followed by a hunter hardly any believed the Jackdaw could survive that strength of attack, yet pulling into the cove of Great Inagua the corpse of a burning ship said otherwise. The cannons had been ripped from its deck, the sails torn down and any other useful materials plundered. Judging from the scenes on the beach the celebrations were still going strong. After the ship had docked I headed straight for the bonfire, Ah Tabai had entrusted me with a message for Kenway. I was prepared for celebrations but what greeted me was a party in full force, men were passed out whilst women were draped over them in a very similar manner. It made my job much easier, being one of the semi conscious ones made him easier to find.

"Mary, there you are. Have a drink!"

"Shut your trap Kenway, or I'll shut it for you" I glance around glad for the fact everyone within a metres radius of us is incapacitated by drink "is there anywhere we can talk, where no one else can hear?"

Stumbling to a stand he slurs "the captains cabin" he indicates the Jackdaw docked up. It takes a while to get there, him tripping and me waiting for him to catch up. Clumsily he climbs aboard and I follow with trepidation.

"a drink Read!" I accept the bottle of rum, god knows I'm going to need it, he scans the letter I handed him, although I don't know how much he takes in "tell Ah Tabai I'll do it, until then celebrate with us!" he raises his bottle and gestures for me to do the same.

"celebrate what?" I raise an eye brow

"to the Jackdaw achieving the apparent impossible" we chink bottles and reminisce, its not long before I feel rather merry, I can feel my control slipping away every second. As I get up to leave I trip, landing in a heap, all around me it feels like the world is spinning. Edward goes to help me up but finds the same raised floorboard that I did, fat lot of good that was. I start to giggle the travel here and liquor make a toxic mix. A mix of emotions cross his face until his stare fixes onto me, his eyes stare intensely into mine.

"you know I have feelings for you Mary, ever since Thatch died you've been there for me, one of the most loyal friends I have ever had the honour to sail with" he goes to kiss me, I want it, but I know I can't have him.

"what about your wife?" he falters and groans, stroking a stray hair off my face.

"I haven't seen her for years, I write to her yet never get replies. I believe she has moved on, I think I've known it for some time" he tries again, only this time. I don't stop him, he tells me everything I want to hear, so I let him do what he wants to. We lie tangled in a sweaty mess covered only by the flag from the hunter ship and fall asleep to the waves lapping against the side of the ship.

The next morning my head feels like its going to explode, I sit up and it feels like the world is rocking. The waves that lapped against the ship yesterday now crash loudly around me, I soon realise that it means we are moving. I dress quickly making sure there is no hint of Mary on show, I can't risk the crew seeing me.

"bring us into shore lads, captain wants to go for a walk" two sets of foot steps go down the stairs, each thud adding to my headache "go ashore men" I recognise the voice as Adewale the jackdaws quartermaster , suddenly the doors a thrown open, stumbling back the light that flows through blinds me.

"gosh Ade couldn't you have knocked" I joke, we exchange smiles.

"Edward wanted to make sure you got back to Tulum, he also told me that he's sure your paths will cross sometime in the future" I'm glad he protected me from the crew, but I feel dirty that he wasn't the one to say goodbye, I leap from the ship and head to my hut, on my way I see Edward. He catches my eye and I reply with a smirk

_I hope you all enjoyed this, I guess its a bit more romance than action like the game, but it is an alternative universe that I imagined up, second chapter coming soon. Please review and tell me your thoughts_


	2. Chapter 2

January 31st 1720

"Mary this illness you have has been raging for over a week now, you should see someone about it!" Anne has been staying with me in Tulum for just over two weeks now, we sail out soon with Rackham and his crew, he'll help me deal with a target and I'll aid him in a few of his own plans.

"I will Anne, but there hasn't been any other symptoms" I take a sip of water, she doesn't look convinced "until then I'll eat plenty of oranges and stay off ships" its been a joke that maybe my sea days are up and I should retire "I will be fit and ready for when we sail out, I promise that"

Ah Tabai offered me the services of a doctor who tends to the assassins but I don't wish to trouble him over a simple sickness bug. I make sure I get as much sea air as I can, giving me time to think. Although with the seagulls squawking above me I don't think I'll be doing much of that, the twirling birds above remind me when the Jackdaw had gained a roosting pair of gulls keeping the crew awake all night.

The sight of a gull picking at a fish on the beach makes my stomach turn and the feeling of nausea overtakes me, rushing for a nearby bush I retch until there's nothing left to bring up. Rolling over I stare upwards and try to calm myself. The twirling birds, the Jackdaw, Edward something seems to click, my illness. This was no fever, but it still filled me with dread. I was pregnant! Of course, the night I had spent with Edward a month ago. I was stupid to think this couldn't happen, I had to speak to him. Making up an excuse of a doctor who worked in Great Inagua that didn't trade in coin, I spoke to Ah Tabai about how I might get there.

As a favour he sorted a small schooner and a crew, the wind was strong so I should reach there in no time. In the end it took about half a day, the closer we got the more my nerves attacked me. Pulling into the dock I spotted the Jackdaw, its sails tied up and its deck empty of any crew members. The harbour master greeted me upon docking, the place really had started to take shape.

"do you know where I can find captain Kenway?"

"of course, Captain Kenway chooses to sleep in the captains cabin of his ship. Although he hasn't been out all day" slapping a coin into his palm I thanked the man and made my way to the ship. The doors to the cabin were shut so I knocked and waited for a response, if he had been drinking last night he might take a while answering. Although after a few minutes it felt like he was taking too long, I knocked again this time as more of a warning that I was going to enter anyway. I grabbed both handles opening them simultaneously only to be greeted by the sight of him wrapped around some whore, covered only by the flag that had covered us. Anger welled up inside of me till I couldn't control it any more, I grabbed a bucket from the deck and fill it with sea water. With a swift movement I covered the both of them, the effect was immediate. He jumped up roaring obscenities whilst she cowered back, not quite knowing what to make of the situation.

"what's he doing here!" she practically squealed, who was this whore! The cheek of calling me a he. I was about to swing for her when I realised that I had come as Kidd.

"Jaysus Read, what the fuck was that for?!" behind him the woman looked around, searching for her clothes I hoped. Her gaze fell onto her dress, dressing the quickest I've even seen she looked back at me

"I'm going to go" she squeaked and scuttled off, back to the brothel no doubt

"Bloody hell Edward, was all you told me a lie" my voice was raised, but what I wanted to do was really run and cry where no one could see me. I internally tried to settle my emotions before I continued "do you care for no one but yourself?" he stepped forward and I though I had got through to him

"what I told you were the ramblings of a drunk man, if you thought anything else of them. You were wrong" it felt like a blow to my stomach

"you are going down a very dark path Edward Kenway" and with that I turned and left.


	3. Chapter 3

April 20th1720

I stand in front of a small crowd of people here to see me sentenced, to my right Anne stands defiant. We both agreed that no matter what, the crowd wouldn't affect us. As the judge starts to talk my attention is on the guards as they drag in another prisoner and sit him down.

"Mary Read and Anne Bonny" the judge tells the crowd of our crimes but I don't hear a word, it feels like time has stopped all my attention is on Edward. The look on his face says he knows nothing about us being here "you will be hung by the neck until dead, dead, dead" his face falls as he struggles against the guards restraining him.

"we're pregnant" I explode, it has the desired effect on the crowd. I started showing in early march but my choice of clothes have meant I've kept it well hidden.

"wh-wh-what did they say" the judge bumbles trying to keep some order.

"they plead their bellies m'lord" the guard next to him looks just as thrown off as the crowd does.

"fine, you shall remain imprisoned until otherwise" Anne retorts with a joke about being knocked up the second time they'll come for her. The judge doesn't take kindly to it and orders the guards to lead us to our cells, my last view of Edward is him being marched away as well.

My cell consists of 3 walls and bars, the stone floor is cold covered by a light scattering of hay. The bed doesn't look much better, just a pile of straw covered by a thin blanket. I start by pushing the pile into a nest shape then pull the blanket over myself, the clothes we were allocated are thin also and offer no protection from the cold. At that moment it feels as if butterflies have started moving round my stomach "its okay baby" I whisper "we'll find a way out" I realise that earlier in the court when I thought it was my nerves playing up, that it was the baby recognizing their father.

"so" says Anne from the cell next to me "when were you going to tell me your little secret? And for that matter, who's the father?"

"do you remember the lad that fought along side us until the end? Its his" I lied, grateful she couldn't see my face "i never got the chance to tell him" that part I suppose is true and it scares me to think Edward still might not have figured it out.

August 1st 1720

The pains started not long after the moon had risen, I tried to keep the noise down. Telling only Anne what was happening, only yesterday we had watched a woman have her child ripped from her arms. The pain in her cries were enough to make me stay as quiet as possible, it was a few hours later that she was born. Her dark hair stuck to her tiny face, those sea blue eyes stared back at me, they were her fathers eyes. There were hardly any night guards on so that few that were ignored the noises, I kept her close to my chest trying to keep her warm. I couldn't believe how much I loved something, everything she did seemed amazing to me. I called her Beth whilst she was sleeping, kissing her forehead and trying to cherish every minute we had together.

In the end at was her cries that betrayed us and as I expected she was taken from me, I screamed until my voice was gone. I cried and banged on the bars long after the guards left, if felt like I had cried for days. Food was bought to us but I never ate it. It wasn't long till the illness set in, my temperature rose and fell. I thought I was hallucinating when Edward opened my cell door and wouldn't believe he was there until I felt his arms around me.


	4. Chapter 4

August 14th 1720

Edward

"what's wrong with Mary?" she looks a ghost of the person I know

"she's ill" replies Anne

"and her child?" Mary is staring behind me, I follow her line of vision but there's nothing there

"they took her" I can hear guards entering the Jail from somewhere in the distance, I make sure Ah Tabai has Anne and then turn my attention back to Mary.

"can you walk?" just from looking at her I know the answer already, I loop her arm around my neck and get her to her feet "lean on me, come on" I plead with her to try

"I can't" she barely whispers

"you're alright Mary, come on" I don't know who I'm trying to convince out of sheer panic I try again to make her take a step

"stop, stop please" we've only taken about 10 steps, but in that time I can feel her struggling. She's fading fast.

"I ain't leaving you damn it! Lift your arm" I swing her into my arms and move as quickly as I can, I notice the exit just ahead when she starts pleading me to leave her "I ain't leaving you nowhere, no bloody way!"

her body jerks in my arms "put me down Edward" she whimpers, it breaks me so I does as she asks.

"you're such a pain in the arse. Damn it, you should have been the one to outlast me" tears threaten to fall but somehow I hold them back.

"Beth, she's yours Edward. She has your eyes" she's getting weaker by the second "I've done my part, will you?"

"if you come with me, I could" I plead, tears now flow freely down my face "we could, we'd get her back" she slumps further and I know I have to rouse her "Mary"

"I'll be with you Kenway, I will" with that her eyes close and I know she's gone. I hear shouting in the prison and realise the guards will have found the cell doors open, with no guards nearby. I scoop her into my arms, there's no way I'm leaving her here. I stick to the shadows, careful to not alarm all of the guards. Ah Tabai and Anne are sat in a row boat waiting for us, they look hopeful until they see her lying lifeless in my arms.

"what's happened to Mary? What's wrong?" Anne knows what's wrong, I guess denial affects us all.

"is she gone?" Ah Tabai seems to be the voice of reason at this mad time, I reply with a short nod "what will you do now?" the question strikes me and I realise I have no idea

"nothing sensible" I turn from them, worried my emotions will betray me. He put his hand on my shoulder, turning to face him I notice something in his arms

"although you haven't earned these, they suit you!" I recognize the robes I had stole from the assassin, with that he turns and walks to the boat pushing it out into the ocean. The act I had been playing stopped as my anger rose up inside me, the people responsible for Mary's death would pay with their lives!

I crept back to the jail killing every guard I met, when I reached the cells I set each prisoner free telling them to leave the governor for me. The madness that ensued felt good to watch, storming to the office I kicked the door down as if it were made of paper. Sat cowering behind an overturned desk was a weed of a man, which made it easier for me to throw him around.

"where have you taken my daughter" using tactics I had learned from Thatch, I grabbed my empty pistol and pushed it to his temple " there is one bullet in my pistol, you could have six chances to talk or just one" bearing down on him I heard him let out a whimper, I had him exactly where I wanted him.

"who is … your daughter" his voice hitched

"she was born to Mary Read a few days back" I struggled to say her name, but I made sure I looked nothing but menacing in front of this man.

"all children born here are taken to Havana and sorted from there" he swallowed hard "please don't kill me" I couldn't watch someone else die today so instead I delivered a blow to his abdomen and left him slumped on the ground.

Outside a group of the prisoners wait for my order "make sure all the prisoners are clear" I shout "then burn it to the ground!"


	5. Chapter 5

**so sorry this took so long to upload, felt really crappy after I killed Mary so I started a new fan fic. I have finished writing this fan fic up by hand, just need to type it all and then upload it :D 2 chapters now hopefully the rest very soon**

The next few day I did nothing but drink, ghosts of everyone I had lost haunted me. I continued like this for 10 days, after chasing Mary's ghost I collapsed in a heap where she had disappeared. Someone shook me but I was scared to see who it was, sometimes it felt like the ghosts could touch me. It shook me again this time rolling me onto my back, I stared up covering my eyes from the suns glare only to find Adewale staring down at me.

"Captain Kenway, you look like a bowl of plum duff" he smiled his usual smile, it looked like him. I hope it is him, he offers me his hand and helps me up. Grateful its not one of my nightmares

"Christ I've got a head for ten" the spinning world slows down "I'm glad to see you Ade" and I genuinely am

"You'll be chuffed to know your Jackdaw is still in one piece" he gestures to the ship docked nearby

"Shall we set sail?" he takes a step away from me "You're leaving"

"Aye, I've got a calling elsewhere. When you're ready, visit the assassins , then you'll understand" and with that he leaves. Its a lonely journey to Tulum, the last time I sailed here was to make sure Mary got home. The lads sing shanties to chase away the silence. When I reach the island injured are scattered everywhere, I rush to find Ah Tabai.

"What happened here?" it doesn't look good

"You did, the mess you caused years ago has not been cleaned up" I didn't realise the severity of my actions back then, I was just chasing gold.

"Mary...before she died, she asked me to do good by her. I wondered if I helped sort the mess I'd made, you might help me find my daughter?" his response came in the form on a nod, he beckoned me to follow him

"Mary was fond of you Edward, it was her that convinced me you might fight with us" he stopped and signalled to a watch tower "This is the second attack this month, help us defeat them and you will have full use of our services"

"You have a deal, when do I start" I was eager to find Beth and the sooner I started the better my chances of finding her

"There is three ways to this village, help clear one of them of attackers then we can start the search for your daughter"

Me and two assassins crept stealthily through the bushes, pulling every invader out of sight and silencing them. Making sure we weren't seen or heard was the most important thing, if we were spotted it would have been a tough battle with a questionable outcome. We made it to the beach without being caught, there was only a handful of soldiers most of which sat with their backs to us, we darted them and cleared the beach. When we were finished we rush back to assist the others, it took less than 30 minutes to regain Tulum for the assassins.

"You have gained our trust Edward, we thank you for what you have done today. I have sent some of our order to help search for information in Havana, we should have news soon" it was then that I noticed Anne sat alone

"How is her child?" replied by simply shaking his head

"She is a strong woman, but not invincible"

Apart from rallying my crew I never had been good with words, I sat by her until she spoke, we reminisced about everyone that was no longer with us.

"She never told me you were the father, although I suppose I never questioned it too much. What are you going to do?" it wasn't a question it was more of a challenge.

"I'm going to get her back" a smile crosses her lips "But first I need to find a new quartermaster"

"Sign me up, when do we set sail?"


	6. Chapter 6

October 29th 1720

The tavern in Havana was empty, Anne and I sit by the bar keeping our eyes on the door. It could have been full and I would have still sat there as if I was on my own, I was told that information of Beth's whereabouts has been uncovered and is on its way to me now via scout.

"Jesus Edward, have you heard a single word I've said" Anne laughs "I said if you can't stop watching that door, how about we go outside so we can set off quicker?" I'm glad Anne's here, god knows what I would have been like had it been just me and a bottle of rum.

"Its okay, I'm okay. How about another drink?" I stand up so quickly that my chair goes flying "Shit! Oh god wasn't he meant to be he..." at that moment the door to the tavern swings open. My heart almost stop, I can feel my palms sweating. The scout strides quickly over to me and hands me a note, leaving as quickly as he arrived.

_1 x female born to Elspeth Jones on the 29__th__ of July_

_1 x male born to Hazel Smith on the 30__th__ of July_

_1 x female born to Mary Read on the 1__st__ of August_

_to be transported to Ivy house, Kingston_

"Anne gather your stuff, we're headed for Kingston" we hurry in silence to the docks. The Jackdaw sits in the harbour waiting for us, before we left for Havana Ah Tabai allowed me twenty assassins to sail with us.

I jump aboard and stand on the railings "Gather round lads, we're sailing for Kingston. We need to be as inconspicuous as possible, I need the flag down and the cannons stored. Anything else that could give us away is to be moved to my cabin, I also have to ask that anyone who wishes to stay there tells me now! Do you understand?" a chorus of ayes goes up.

"Edward I've got a little gift for you" I regard Anne sceptically "It's just inside your cabin" she indicates the doors and we both walk over. I grasp both handles and step through, to the side of my desk sits a simple wooden crib "I don't think you could have carried her home and captained a ship at the same time" I peer inside to find a pink knitted blanket

"Thank you Anne, I'm sure she'll love it"

"Captain" one of my crew addresses me "The ship is ready"

I head to the helm as Anne shouts out her orders "Weigh anchor lads! We're sailing for Jamaica" Anne's Irish accent always makes me smile "We'll be there in no time"

However it feels like time slows down, I swear its never taken this long. My impatience gets the best of me, I check my spyglass constantly. Eventually land looms on the horizon, I make Anne aware and she barks orders down to the crew.

"On your best behaviour lads" they acknowledge her orders and go about minor jobs.

The burnt remains of the prison sit to the right of us, beside me Anne shudders "That place will always haunt me, the screams of the women. I hear them when I sleep" its weird seeing the shell of a once physically imposing building. My daughter was born there, Mary died there. Although I destroyed its structure, it destroyed so much more.


End file.
